MPs call for fairer Malay language tests for citizenship applicants

 

A total of 56 MPs debated the 2024 Federal Constitution (Amendment) Bill, which is expected to be voted on tomorrow. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: 

Sim Tze Tzin (PH-Bayan Baru) and Ngeh Koo Ham (PH- Beruas) raised concerns about unfair standards in the Malay language requirement for foreigners applying for Malaysian citizenship.

Sim said some applicants were asked to write essays as part of the language test, which made the process unnecessarily difficult.

Some people may not be able to write an essay, but they can speak and understand Malay well enough,

 Sim said when debating the constitutional amendments concerning citizenship in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said he was fully supportive of the language requirement for applicants, but standardised testing is needed to ensure fairness.

We should standardise the criteria so that everyone has an equal chance, instead of relying on the discretion of individual national registration department (JPN) officers.

Ngeh asked why there was an inconsistency between the language proficiency requirements for citizenship by naturalisation and by marriage.

For naturalisation, what is required is basic knowledge of the (Malay) language. But for foreign spouses, it says ‘adequate knowledge of the language’. What is the difference and how will the level of Malay proficiency be set?

 Ngeh asked.

Ngeh said the language requirement should not be set too high as it would be unfair to expect foreign spouses to master Malay quickly.

Imagine if we marry someone from Russia, it might be difficult for us to master the language in two years,

 he said.

Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar), however, said the test must be of the strictest standards.

He said at a time when some ministers and MPs were not able to converse in Malay properly, the language test should be made a priority.

Separately, Wan Razali Wan Nor (PN-Kuantan) took issue with the home minister’s much-praised clearing of a backlog of citizenship applications. He said tens of thousands of such applications were cleared in such a short time, which he felt was inappropriate.

I am concerned that if this is done hastily in pursuit of KPIs (key performance indicators) and without careful consideration, it could lead to non-compliance with the standard operating procedures,

 he said.

Tan Kar Hing (PH-Gopeng) said the government must make it mandatory that JPN provide clear reasons for the rejection of any citizenship or permanent residency applications.

A total of 56 MPs debated the 2024 Federal Constitution (Amendment) Bill, which is expected to be voted on tomorrow. - FMT